Shifting
by tigerlili1
Summary: Tsuna and byakuran are part of a secret species called changlings. When tsuna's father sells him off after his mothers death, what will happen? incomes byakuran, a mysterious stranger with the mask of the devil. When tsuna accidentally shifts and the council finds out, what will happen to the two? {10027} {shape-shifters AU} {rating might go up}
1. Chapter 1

So... my second story ever posted... i was never meant to be a tsuna or a byakuran, so I'm sorry if they don't seem very in character...

~all mistakes are my own~

~I own nothing but the plot~

R&R please?

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The small brown cat shook like a leaf, large brown eyes open and gazing around in fear. his ears were pressed back against his skull and his tail twined around his legs. He let out a pitiful mewl as he hid in the corner of the dark cage. He knew that something bad was going to happen when his father had sold him off to that clinic,a collar around his neck. he didn't realize the collar was designed to keep him in his animal form, to keep him restricted. he had cried the whole week after his mother had been run over by that wretched car, but there was nothing he could do to bring her back, there was no god on earth that could have saved him when he had walked out of his room in his animal form, when his father had grabbed him and clipped on the collar before unceremoniously throwing him into that cage. He should have run the night before any of it had happened, as he had been planning. that was no home. his father was an abusive drunk, and that had shown clearly.

Now, as he was carried away with his new 'owner' tsuna wondered if he would ever get the chance to change back into a human, would ever get the chance to be called his own name. He wanted mama back. he wanted his litter mate basil with him. he wanted to see his tutor reborn, and hold leon, said tutor's lizard. He wanted to run from the disciplinary chairman hibari, just one more time. he would do anything for just one more time.

But sadly, his pleas always fell on deaf ears. His mother was gone, and now he was stuck with a man, who tsuna had barely ever seen. all her had seen when before being placed in this cage, was a few white tufts of hair, much like his own in his human form.

It seemed like ages had passed when he was finally let out, but he was tentative when the cage opened, leaning forward and sniffing before placing a hesitant paw on the soft carpet of the room he was in. without hesitating, he darted for the nearest climbable object, bounding up it until he was too high for anyone to reach him, then he let himself breath, looking around with frightened eyes.

`"hey~ come on down from there. that's no way to greet your new owner. i was told you didn't have a name, but i have to see you to choose a good name." and just like that, ahead poked up around the china cabinet he was hidden on top of, and a hand reached out to grab him. Tsuna let out a pitiful meow, still finding it difficult to hiss in his kitten form, why it had never grown with him, he had no idea. "ne~ that's better, see? you are really cute you know." the man had spiky white hair, and soft purple eyes. he had a mark under his left eye that looked like an upside down crown, and a pearly white smile graced his lips. tsuna let out a tiny squeak as he was taken down from atop the cabinet and pulled into the man's arms. "i think i'll call you na-tsu~" tsuna flicked his tail, it was acceptable, considering what he could be called. He tensed when a hand ran down his furry flank and struggled in the hold, meowing pitifully. He admit that it felt nice, but it was strange, and he wasn't used to it. the hand froze when it reached his neck and the small collar, more like a piece of string with how much he had scratched it. The man narrowed his eyes and grabbed some scissors, snipping off the remnants without a moments hesitation. tsuna shivered at how close the dangerous tool was too his neck, trying to get as small as he could in the man's.

"ne~ my name is byakuran. i also have an albino hawk, but he doesn't normally come out." That sent tsuna's senses on the fritz, his claws coming out as he tried to get away, hide under something, as high places were now unsafe. Hawks were known to eat small animals. kittens were small animals. tsuna was prey in the eye of any bird that ate small animals. byakuran hissed out slightly in pain, rubbing where tsuna's claws had scratched him as the kitten ran off to find somewhere to hide.

that night Byakuran found tsuna hiding under his bed, the poor kitten terrified of his own shadow. The white haired man reached out and grabbed the kitten gently, pulling him out to set him on the bed, only to crawl up afterwards. He was in plain striped pajamas and he curled up on the bed with an elegant grace, back curving slightly. He pulled the kitten up to his chest and stroked his fur lazily, rubbing soothing circles until the small animal was fast asleep, before pulling up the covers around them and falling asleep after.

The following week continued much like that, until the 5th day came since tsuna arrived. He had leapt off the bed at the first sight that byakuran wasn't there, abandoning the warmth of the covers. he had been itching to turn into a human, but byakuran had always been in the house somewhere, and he never got the chance. Shifters were rare, and being one meant keeping your condition secret from everyone, and never shifting in front of others. He was lucky though, when shifter changed back, they always had on some semblance of clothing, normally for him it was a pair of soft white pants and a matching shirt. Tsuna always thought the clothes were comfortable, as comfortable as the skin he wore in his animal form. Tsuna let out a squeak when he saw a shadow pass by overhead, looking up to see, to his horror, the white hawk that he had been warned about that first day. He backed up in horror, claws digging into the carpet. He turned to get away when the thing turned back around to chase him, not realizing that he had backed himself into a corner.

"H-HEIII!" He screamed, his human voice coming out as hot tears poured down human cheeks. The hawk in turn landed on his knees, Purple eyes staring at him in wonder. with a small caw, the hawk flew off, into byakuran's bedroom. tsuna quickly changed back, happy that the clothes disappeared when he changed. He darted under the couch, sniffling his kitten sniffle and crying the tiny kitten tears. He was terrified, and very happy that this was one hiding spot that byakuran couldn't reach him in.

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AN-

So? what do you think? did i fail? i probably did...

Either way, this is just the first chapter, i hope to get better as i get into this. I plan to update this about once a week, but i might get them in late sometimes, as i have other things i do during the day (namely school)

R&R please?


	2. Chapter 2

Tsuna didn't wake until hours later, and the house was eerily quiet. He crawled out with quick glances around, his feet shaking as he made his way to go get somewhere warm, namely under the covers of byakuran's he got there, though, byakuran was already asleep, and seemed to be having a nightmare of sorts. tsuna jumped up, padding softly over to byakuran and sniffing his face quietly, before nuzzling in under his chin and curling up in the crook of his neck. he let out a soft whimper as he fell asleep again, his furry head leaning against byakuran's neck. He woke what felt like only moments later, byakuran clutching him close, but that's not what had him the most surprised. byakuran seemed smaller somehow.

"ne~natsu, care to explain yourself?" The once warm voice was deathly cold and the grip around tsuna's waist tightened while one arm grabbed something from under the pillow and then he felt something on the back of his neck, it made him cry out in pain as the needle punctured skin in one place and came out in another. great, now he was locked as a human.

"p-please…" Tsuna sobbed," please take it out. i-i'm sorry...p-please… i-it hurts…." He whimpered in pain, the burn of the needle so close to his nerve center making it seem like he was being eaten by the fires of hell, his whole body seemed to be frozen as the pain travelled along it. he felt the needle being taken out and he sagged, crying into his arms as he curled into a ball. something soft was placed to the area the needle was. the needle had to have been coated in something, and it hurt terribly. he searched around in his mind for his kitten form, curling tighter into a ball when he couldn't find it. "w-what did you d-do to me?" tsuna asked quietly, his voice a mere whisper.

"It's a type of poison. it'll wear off, but you won't be able to change shape. Now, what's your name?" Byakuran was still stone cold, harsh and cruel. Tsuna, for once, feared his power, his greed. This man who was so kind to him… He snapped out of it with another whimper.

"t-tsunayoshi… sawada tsunayoshi…" tsuna choked out, tears streaming down his face. Byakuran was sitting up now.

"what were you doing at a clinic, for sale?" He asked, voice steel.

"m-my father d-donated me for a-adoption… a-after my mother d-died…" tsuna replied, voice shaky with tears. byakuran seemed to soften at that, waiting for tsuna to continue all the more. "w-when you bought m-me…. I-I didn't know w-what to d-do… if i r-ra away, my f-father would sell me again… a-and if i d-didn't go home, I-I wouldn't have anywhere to g-go… P-please don't be mad at me..." And he left out the information about the council. if the council found out about this, he and byakuran were as good as dead. There was nothing against changelings living as pets, as long as they didn't reveal their secret. whoops on tsuna's part. Tsuna lay shivering and curled up, crying, scared, and cold. He tensed considerably when He felt byakuran lay down next to him again, a blanket being pulled over him and an arm going around his waist.

"i'm not mad at you, sleep. you should be able to change again in the morning." Byakuran was back to being his kind self, his words honey and full of delicate care. Tsuna tried, but the pain in his neck ended up rendering him unconscious before sleep did, and he was sent into a fitful nightmare instead of a smooth dream. multiple times in the night he woke with pain in his neck, and a cold sweat breaking on his skin, before the pain overwhelmed him again and he succumbed to darkness.

"ne~tsunayoshi, get up. it's almost noon." Tsuna stirred with a grown at the cheery voice that woke him, the hand on his shoulder made him flinch and draw in on himself. He turned his head away, intent not to look at the white haired demon. the hand removed itself quickly and then there was a slight flutter before a large bird hopped up to tsuna's head and nudged against it. tsuna tensed, eyes snapping open as he quickly tried to get away, stumbling back until he was pressed against the wall, shaking in fear, fresh tears falling down his face. the hawk let out acaw and changed quickly, growing into the purple eyed man that had taken tsuna in a week before. He was covered from head to toe in matching clothes to what tsuna has, it wasn't uncommon for this kind of outfit to come with changing. Byakuran crawled towards the cowering form of tsuna, pulling the small boy into his arms, while the boy got impossibly stiff.

"i won't hurt you. just don't lie to me." His voice was cold again and tsuna shivered. He hated being as submissive as he was, it always caused problems and got him into dangerous situations. "are you registered?" tsuna nodded stiffly, not daring to speak, not trusting his voice even the slightest. Byakuran let out a harumph, seeming troubled at that, but tsuna didn't dare ran a hand through tsuna's hair, letting the boy sit silent in his fear driven state. after about 10 minutes, byakuran released tsuna and the boy immediately curled into ball, face in his knees, pale as the moon.

"b-byakuran… p-please d-don't kick m-me out…" tsuna's soft voice called meekly, his face tilted up slightly so he could peer softly over his knee with one eye.

"ne~ tsunayoshi-kun, why would i do that? you're too cute for me to just leave for the rats on the streets. i think i'll just keep you, you're _mine_." Byakuran responded with an air of finality and possessiveness. Tsuna winced at the tone, but nodded, watching as byakuran walked off to probably go do something else, possibly go work in his office as he did most of the time. Tsuna had never caught what he worked as, but he assumed it was something that he could do at home most of the time. not to mention the time that they had gotten visitors a few days ago. Tsuna had been dodging feet for what felt like hours. though the attention he got from the blue haired girl was rather nice. But now tsuna was worried about the council. what would they do if they found out about the accidental shift? if byakuran wasn't registered, then tsuna would be thrown in the cages, and byakuran… tsuna gulped, he didn't want to think about what would happen. he was already shaken up from the whole ordeal. He quietly shifted into cat form and curled up into a ball, trying to keep as still as possible as he lay on top of byakuran's pillow. He would never admit it, but he had grown to like the smell of sweet marshmallows and lilacs that the spiky haired man seemed to have. he found comfort in it, another thing he would never admit.

He just hoped that his owner didn't hate him now that he knew the truth about tsuna.

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AN:

so... chapter 2?

what do you think?

R&R please?


	3. Chapter 3

"ne~ tsunayoshi-kun. wake up." A sweet sultry voice called through tsuna's hazy mind, pulling him out of a fitful dream. Tsuna yawned a kitten yawn and looked up at byakuran over his muzzle. The room was dark, but the clock on the wall said it was almost 6. a confused look to byakuran showed the man was holding up a backpack full of supplies. Tsuna shifted, planning to ask what was going on, but byakuran beat him too it.

"The new school year is starting up again next week, i assume you were enrolled at nami-chu?" tsuna nodded when byakuran spoke," good, then knowing who your father is, he forgot to take you out of the school, and you should be able to still go without a problem. after school everyday i'll be waiting on the fence." tsuna nodded again, understanding.

"b-byakuran-san… what about-" tsuna started but was cut off.

"what about your tutor? " byakuran finished for him," i'll be tutoring you from now on, just tell him you got a new one if you see him. Tsuna nodded, accepting the uniform and supplies that were given to him.

"byakuran-san… a-are you registered?" Tsuna asked, looking up to stare into the purple eyes that instantly hardened from their warm state that they normally were towards him, but tsuna didn't back down, this was something he needed to know, for safeties sake.

"...no." byakuran replied harshly," now change, i'm taking you to meet some… friends of mine." Tsuna nodded, transforming into a kitten quickly before jumping into byakuran's arms when he held them out for him.

Tsuna meowed quietly when byakuran set him down on a cushion in the man's car, then dug his claws into the fabric when the car started moving. He never liked cars, didn't feel safe in them. He was fine with being carried in arms, but not riding in cars. When they came to a red light, tsuna gave a slight sigh of relief, leaning into byakuran's hand when it came down to scratch him behind the ear. he practically jumped though, when the car lurched forward once more. the rest of the ride was uneventful, and tsuna was a shivering mass of kitten fluff by the time they had arrived. He curled into byakuran's arms when the man picked him up, trying to calm down.

"ne~tsunayoshi-kun~ don't be like that. it wasn't that bad." byakuran laughed, stroking a soothing hand through the kittens fur softly. the sound of a gun clicking made tsuna wince and curl further in, brown eyes wide from where they were hidden under paws.

"tsuna." Adeep, throaty, growl called. Tsuna jumped up and struggled in byakuran's grip, but a hand clamping over the skin on his neck halted his movements. he jerked slightly, an attempt at freedom, to no success. he was trapped.

"ne~ reborn-kun, nice to see you. what do you need~?" Byakuran hummed as he looked at the hitman currently pointing a gun at his head. Tsuna whimpered in byakuran's grip, his voice a tiny mewl. Why was reborn there? why did reborn know that tsuna was the kitten? why was reborn trying to hurt byakuran? all he knew was it was wrong. so so wrong. He didn't like this. but he couldn't change, not with byakuran grabbing him like that. He could hardly move with byakuran doing that.

"put the cat down." Reborn instructed," i'm here on orders to secure you and the cat. come peacefully and i won't have to use force." reborn knew. he knew about the accidental shift. he worked for the council. tsuna whimpered once more, but stopped struggling, instead cowering into byakuran.

how were they supposed to get out of this when they were being held at gunpoint?

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A/N-

well, sorry for the late update, bu here we go. the newest chapter. i hope to have the next one up sooner then i did this one, but im not always that lucky. i have finals next week, so not allot of writing time.

sorry its so short, i've had allot to do this past 2 weeks and not allot of time to do it.

and some basic information that i did not give to you guys for reasons before

-the 'council' consists of the arcobaleno

- The vongola will come in later, and will play an important part. so don't worry, i haven't forgotten about the main cast.

- the millefiore have already come in if you noticed last chapter, and they will become more important later.


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